May 29, 2020

Wens Foodstuffs Group aims to triple swine output by 2024

The biggest swine producer in China will boost its output by three times in the next four years through the construction of new swine farms, Reuters reported.

Wen Pengcheng, the company's honorary chairman said Wens Foodstuffs Group has completed the construction of nine new swine farms, with dozens more currently under construction.

Major swine producers in China are investing billions of RMB into building new swine farms to secure market share after the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak decimated more than 40% of the country's swine herd.

Wen told Reuters that construction was completed even though the COVID-19 pandemic had delayed constructions in many parts of the country.

He said the company aims to raise 56 million swine by 2024. Wen is also a delegate to China's parliament.

According to company filings, Wens Foodstuffs Group sales dropped 17% to 18.5 million swine in 2019 because of ASF. Its sales fell a further 62% in the first quarter of 2020 as it bred fewer piglets in the second half of 2019.

The new farms will produce 1.2 million swine annually, with the group's pending 79 projects producing a total of 7.75 million swine and 260 million chicken annually.

Wen said the group has established a new waterfowl division, its third biggest business after swine and chicken.

-      Reuters